Stress/ stressors as perceived by baccalaureate Saudi nursing students

Aim The aim of the current study was to investigate perceived stress and stressors among baccalaureate Saudi nursing students Methods: A descriptive, closs sectional design was utilized. The study was conducted in King Saud Bin AbdulAziz University of Health Science, College of Nursing- Jeddah. A total of 100 nursing students were recruited for the study. A self-administered structured questionnaire was utilized to gather the relevant data regarding perceived stress and stressors among the students, Perceived stress scale ( PSS) and the Inventory of College Students' Recent Life Experiences (ICSRLE) were used as data collection tools. Results: Results of the study revealed that (72.0%) students reported feeling nervous or stressed fairly often to very often in the previous month; (61.0%) students reported being angry because of things that were outside of their control, (50.0%) students reported being upset because of something that happened unexpectedly.. As for the stressors among college students in terms of recent life experiences, (57.0%) of the students reported a lot of responsibilities as the most common stressor they are experiencing and considering as very much part of their life, other stressors were also reported as very much part of students' life such as; lower grades than hoped for (43.0%), not enough sleep (43.0%), too many things required at the same time (42.0%). There was a significant correlation between the Perceived Stress Scale and Students Recent Life Experiences (p< .01; Spearman's rank correlation test = 0.47). Recommendations: Based on the study findings, there is a critical need of instructing the nursing students about how to manage their stress, a periodic meetings with the students to raise their awareness about the coping strategies with stress and stressors. © IDOSI Publications, 2013.